Presented by The First Five Years Fund: Attorney General Holder leaning toward prosecutor to investigate Bush administration interrogation practices; decision within weeks -- The president returns

SUMMARY: Exclusive: What the White House will be saying this week -- Tuesday's Detroit-area town hall is now a speech unveiling a bit of economic policy -- NYT: Cheney ordered CIA to withhold info from Congress -- Newsweek turns up pressure on Iran over imprisoned reporter -- Obama op-ed in WashPost -- Balz and Nagourney on Obama’s summer slump – Obama delivered Sen. Kennedy letter to the Pope -- Tony Snow went home a year ago today -- In "Presswatch" section: N.Y. Times to begin accepting online wedding-announcement information next month; 200 couples a week vie for 40 spots -- Bad blood between IOC and USOC could imperil Chicago's Olympics bid

BREAKING – AFGHAN REVIEW AHEAD -- President Obama to Britain’s Sky News, during an interview in Ghana to be aired today: “I think that all of us are going to have to do an evaluation after the Afghan election [Aug. 20] to see what more we can do. It may not be on the military side. It may be on the development side providing Afghan farmers alternatives to poppy crops, making sure we're effectively training a judiciary system and a rule of law in Afghanistan that people trust.” Sky’s transcript

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BIRTHDAYS: Brendan and Matthew Daly … Romneyite Joe Wall.

Good Sunday morning. Final White House pool report of the trip, from Peter Baker of The New York Times: “AF-1 was wheels up from Accra at 6:57 p.m. local time (2:57 p.m. East Coast time) and wheels down at Andrews at 12:14 a.m. East Coast time (4:14 a.m. Ghana time). No gaggles, no sightings of anyone en route. POTUS, FLOTUS and the rest of the family disembarked, climbed aboard Marine One and headed off into the night for the White House. Welcome home, everyone.”

PUNDIT PREP – NO FETAL POSITION: THE WEST WING’S PLAN FOR THRIVING IN THE SUMMER STORM, as described by senior White House officials:

THE BIG PICTURE: “Our success has always been predicated on this president’s ability to communicate and to lean forward at the same time. … The notion of a summer slump [reminds us of the] line from his stump speech that in Washington, they spend a lot of time focusing on who’s up and who’s down and what the mechanics are. That’s part of the natural Washington thing, and everyone understands that that’s how the game is played. But it’s not necessarily how the game is won. The game is won by keeping your eye fixed on the horizon, and not losing sight of what are some significant accomplishments. If you’re looking for short-term, who’s-up, who’s-down things, there are some data points out there that indicate we’re lower than we were before. In terms of our longer-term trajectory, we feel very good about the momentum that we have right now.”

HEALTH CARE: “This is probably the most difficult legislation attempted by anybody, EVER. We’ve never been closer on health care, in 50 years. If you get lost, … your view will be: ‘Oh, this is really rough.’ On the other hand, never before have five committees at one time worked on a bill. Within days, the [Senate health] committee is going to finish. Within days, the House will introduce their bill and begin to mark up in the three committees. Based on everything I know, [Senate] Finance is very close to getting agreement.”

ACCOMPLISHMENTS ON THE TRIP: “A nuclear agreement with Russia. A strong agreement with Russia and the rest of the G-8 on Iran that is one of the most significant foreign policy accomplishments” of the presidency.

SUCCESSES IN THE FIRST SIX MONTHS: “The economy’s not falling off a cliff, as was expected – we’ve rescued it. It’s steady now. We have, in a series of places around the world – North Korea, Iran, in Europe, Russia – started to fundamentally alter the perception of the United States, and come up with a realistic engagement policy. That’s where we are. … We have had major stuff on foreign policy, and we have had major stuff on the domestic side – not just what we’ve accomplished, but what we’re about it. If you look at health care or you look at energy, outside of a week or so, WE’RE ON SCHEDULE.”

SELLING THE STIMULUS: “We have to [frame the stimulus] as part of a series of steps we took on the economy, both with banking and housing and the Recovery Act – those were a 1-2-3 punch to get the economy away from the abyss we inherited. We inherited the Great Recession that people thought was about to tip over into something more severe, and we rescued the economy from that severity. Now that it’s not in precipitous decline, we’re putting in place the building blocks for rebuilding the economy.”

THE WEEK AHEAD – On Tuesday, the president will deliver a speech in Warren, Mich., which is in Macomb County and is Detroit’s largest suburb. This was originally announced as a town-hall meeting, BUT HAS BEEN CHANGED TO A SPEECH because now they’re going to roll out an economic-policy initiative, and a speech is a better format for that. (An Obama op-ed in today’s Washington Post, excerpted below, suggests it’s about post-high-school education and training, including stronger community college.)

THE PLAN FOR THE SPEECH REFLECTS THE WHITE HOUSE VIEW THAT THE PRESIDENT’S EFFECTIVENESS IS AMPLIFIED WHEN HE’S TALKING ABOUT SOMETHING SPECIFIC, both conveying to the American people his sense of where we currently find ourselves – DEMONSTRATING THAT HE IS IN TOUCH – but also putting forward a very specific plan for how to move forward.

ALSO THIS WEEK: Later on Tuesday, the President will throw out the ceremonial first pitch at the Major League Baseball All-Star Game at Busch Stadium in St. Louis. On Thursday, the President will headline a campaign rally and fund-raiser for New Jersey Gov. Corzine. (The rally was moved to a larger venue after organizers were swamped with ticket requests). In New York City that evening, the president will address the NAACP’s 100th anniversary conference. The president’s appearance has symbolic value to the group, and he’ll talk about the progress he has made in the first six months.

ON HEALTH CARE, the president will be looking to build momentum – to continue making the case about why it needs to get done, and talk about progress that’s been made legislatively and politically (deals with PhRMA, AARP, the hospitals, building support among doctors).

ON THE STIMULUS, look for the administration to say Republicans are SEIZING ON REMAINING WEAKNESS IN THE ECONOMY, and LOOKING TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THAT. The message will be: This wasn’t created overnight, we’re not going to solve it overnight. We passed an important stimulus package to get things going, but it’s taking awhile because we’re making sure the money gets out the door in a responsible way, and it takes awhile to show up in terms of jobs numbers.

NO PRIME-TIME PRESSER THIS WEEK – The White House has found this has been an effective way to take control of the news for a couple of days. Expect the president to use this again, but don’t look for it this week.

CHENEY:

--N.Y. Times, 1 col. lead, “Cheney Is Linked to Concealment of C.I.A. Project,” by Scott Shane: “The Central Intelligence Agency withheld information about a secret counterterrorism program from Congress for eight years on direct orders from former Vice President Dick Cheney, the agency’s director, Leon E. Panetta, has told the Senate and House intelligence committees, two people with direct knowledge of the matter said Saturday. … Intelligence and Congressional officials have said the unidentified program … was started by the counterterrorism center at the C.I.A. shortly after the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, but never became fully operational, involving planning and some training that took place off and on from 2001 until this year.”

--WashTimes followed up after that was on NYTimes.com, resulting in banner, “Official: Cheney, Tenet hid CIA program”: “Top Bush administration officials, including former CIA Director George J. Tenet and former Vice President Dick Cheney, opted not to brief Congress on a secret program belatedly disclosed to Congress last month by CIA Director Leon E. Panetta, according to an intelligence official …The official, .. said that the decision to keep the details of the program secret in the past was made in part because the program remained ‘in the capability stage,’ meaning it had been developed but not necessarily implemented. These activities lasted, if you will, for years,’ this official said. ‘There were other conversations about whether this should be taken to Congress. The same decision was made again by senior officials at the time.’”

** A message from The First Five Years Fund: State budget cuts mean at-risk children face tough times. But that can change if lawmakers fund quality early childhood education. To the Obama administration, we say, “Thanks.” Learn more at www.ffyf.org/whats-new/1-news/75-budget. **

OTHER TOP STORIES:

--IRAN HOLDING NEWSWEEK REPORTER WITHOUT CHARGES -- Newsweek Editor Jon Meacham, “An Opportunity for Tehran”: “Maziar Bahari is a Newsweek reporter, a documentary filmmaker, a playwright, author, artist, and, since June 21, a prisoner being held in Iran without formal charges or access to a lawyer. ... Since 1998 he has worked for Newsweek in Tehran, where his stories have reflected both his experience in the street and his ability to reach some of the most senior figures in government. But he is probably best known internationally for his documentary films. One striking example is his 2002 HBO documentary ‘And Along Came a Spider,’ which grew out of reporting for Newsweek. … One tumultuous week after the vote, … government agents with a warrant showed up at the home where Bahari lives with his elderly mother. The agents, who did not identify themselves or the branch of government they worked for, … seized his computer and took him into custody. … With respect, … we ask the government of Iran to grant Bahari the rights he is guaranteed under Iranian law: that he be allowed to see a lawyer and, if there are no charges against him--and we believe there should be no charges--that he be released immediately.”

--HOLDER HEADING Newsweek cover, ‘HOLDER v. BUSH: TORTURE AND THE ATTORNEY GENERAL’S MOMENT OF TRUTH … Obama doesn't want to look back, but Attorney General Eric Holder may probe Bush-era torture anyway,” by Daniel Klaidman: “Four knowledgeable sources tell NEWSWEEK that he is now leaning toward appointing a prosecutor to investigate the Bush administration's brutal interrogation practices, something the president has been reluctant to do. While no final decision has been made, an announcement could come in a matter of weeks, say these sources, who decline to be identified discussing a sensitive law-enforcement matter. Such a decision would roil the country, would likely plunge Washington into a new round of partisan warfare, and could even imperil Obama's domestic priorities, including health care and energy reform. Holder knows all this, and he has been wrestling with the question for months. ‘I hope that whatever decision I make would not have a negative impact on the president's agenda,’ he says. ‘But that can't be a part of my decision.’”

--TEAM OF RIVALS – MORE KLAIDMAN: “[T]he relationship between the Justice Department and the White House had been marred by surprising tension and acrimony. … [T]he bad blood between the camps has at times been striking. .. The miscues began to reinforce a narrative that Justice has had a hard time shaking. White House officials have complained that Holder and his staff are not sufficiently attuned to their political needs. … The tensions came to a head in June. By then, Congress was in full revolt over the prospect of Gitmo detainees being transferred to the United States, and the Senate had already voted to block funding to shut down Guantánamo. On the afternoon of June 3, a White House official called Holder's office to let him know that a compromise had been reached with Senate Democrats. The deal had been cut without input from Justice, … and it imposed onerous restrictions that would make it harder to move detainees from Cuba to the United States. Especially galling was the fact that the White House then asked Holder to go up to the Hill that evening to meet with Senate Democrats and bless the deal. Holder declined—a snub in the delicate dance of Washington politics—and instead dispatched the deputy attorney general in his place. Ultimately the measure passed, despite Justice's objections. … [White House Chief of Staff Rahm] Emanuel attributes any early problems to the fact that ‘everyone was getting their sea legs,’ and insists things have been patched up. ‘It's not like we're all sitting around singing “Kumbaya,'”’ he says, but he insists that Obama got in Holder exactly what he wanted: ‘a strong, independent leader.’”

--A YEAR WITHOUT TONY SNOW, who passed a year ago today, at age 53 – Fox News Channel plans tributes today -- Former White House Communications Director Kevin “Sully” Sullivan: “On my first day as White House communications director back in July 2006, I stuck my head in Tony Snow’s office to say hello. He bounded from behind his desk and said, ‘Come on – I want to show you something.’ Tony, who had been press secretary a little over two months, led me out of the West Wing and up the driveway toward the Northwest appointments gate. … Tony went on to explain that before we knew it, we’d all be back outside the gates on Pennsylvania Avenue looking through the fence with the tourists. ‘And you don’t want to be out there with any regrets, so you’ve got to give it everything you’ve got every day.” … [M]y personal favorite is the day Tony realized in Dan Bartlett’s morning communicators meeting that his suit pants didn’t match his jacket. … I’ll always be grateful for his knack of somehow knowing when to offer a well-timed word of encouragement.”

TV TIP – Bill Clinton, Eric Schmidt and Mayor Bloomberg are among those interviewed in “American Business at the Crossroads: A Beyond the Boardroom Special,” hosted by Jonathan Tisch, on WRC Channel 4 at 11:30 a.m., after “Meet.”

WEST WING:

--PRESIDENT OBAMA OP-ED IN WASHPOST “ Rebuilding Something Better”: “The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act [stimulus package] was not expected to restore the economy to full health on its own but to provide the boost necessary to stop the free fall. So far, it has done that. It was, from the start, a two-year program, and it will steadily save and create jobs as it ramps up over this summer and fall. We must let it work the way it's supposed to, with the understanding that in any recession, unemployment tends to recover more slowly than other measures of economic activity. I am confident that the United States of America will weather this economic storm. But once we clear away the wreckage, the real question is what we will build in its place. …

“Now is the time to build a firmer, stronger foundation for growth that not only will withstand future economic storms but that helps us thrive and compete in a global economy. To build that foundation, we must lower the health-care costs that are driving us into debt, create the jobs of the future within our borders, give our workers the skills and training they need to compete for those jobs, and make the tough choices necessary to bring down our deficit in the long run. And this week, I'll be talking about how we give our workers the skills they need to compete for these jobs of the future. In an economy where jobs requiring at least an associate's degree are projected to grow twice as fast as jobs requiring no college experience, it's never been more essential to continue education and training after high school. That's why we've set a goal of leading the world in college degrees by 2020. Part of this goal will be met by helping Americans better afford a college education. But part of it will also be strengthening our network of community colleges.”

--BALZ AND NAGOURNEY BOTH HAMMER THE WHITE HOUSE:

--"The Sunday Take," by WashPost’s Dan Balz, on health-care fever: “After a week of international diplomacy, President Obama returns to Washington this week facing an even greater diplomatic challenge: nudging the large and controversial health-care reform package toward consensus on Capitol Hill. Headlines during his absence pointed to multiple problems … ‘When you get this close, you get a lot of heat,’ White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel said. ‘It comes with the nature of what we're doing.’ …But an administration loyalist who is deep into the health-care battle, and who was decidedly more optimistic a few weeks ago, offered a counter to Emanuel's assessment. ‘I think the headlines are accurate,’ he said. ‘Things are not going as well as I would have liked for a lot of reasons.’ …

“Part of the administration's success in keeping everyone involved … has relied on deferring the hardest decisions. Now, as the legislation nears completion in House and Senate committees, there is no way to avoid making choices, and that has disrupted the earlier momentum. … No one expects Obama to declare in dictatorial terms what shape the legislation must take, but lawmakers are now looking for much clearer guidance from the White House on the tough issues remaining.”

--N.Y. Times’ Adam Nagourney and Carl Hulse: “Mr. Obama returns to Washington on Sunday from a weeklong trip abroad at a time when Democrats have grown increasingly jittery about the economy and the political risks of the president’s ambitious agenda on health care, energy and climate change, financial regulation and other issues. … ‘We have to fly through a little turbulence,’ said David Axelrod, one of Mr. Obama’s senior advisers. ‘But the important thing is to keep going, understand where you are headed and not lose heart in the middle of the journey.’ Still, the shifting environment threatens to make it harder for Mr. Obama to rustle up votes from nervous Democrats who, unlike Mr. Obama, have to run for reelection next year. …

“Republicans said they sensed a new vulnerability in Mr. Obama. They have been visibly energized as they argue that his stimulus plan was costly and ineffective and that his health care plan will mean tax increases and more government bureaucracy. … In an interview, Mr. Emanuel criticized Republicans for assailing the stimulus package and said voters understood the depth of the problem and how much time it would take to turn around. ‘I think the public knows three things: We inherited a total mess; we’re working hard on it; and we’re not going to get out of it overnight,’ he said. … Still, Mr. Obama’s aides acknowledged that they had only limited time, and that lawmakers might have less patience than voters. As a rule, voters’ views of the state of the economy tend to become cemented six months before Election Day. ‘Nervousness is the natural state of politicians,’ Mr. Axelrod said. ‘But the truth is on all of this stuff, the real risk is doing nothing.’”

THE PRESIDENT’S TRIP:

--POLITICO’s Josh Gerstein – “Obama’s Africa: more talk than policy: Obama and other White House officials painted his one-day visit to Africa on the tail end of a trip to summits in Russia and Italy as an indication of his desire to integrate the continent into routine discussions of foreign policy. But part of the reason Obama may have decided to forego a longer trip is that the detail of his Africa policy is still ill-defined … Those who were watching for clues on Obama’s trip to Africa – all 22 hours of it – were skeptical that Obama’s personal familiarity with the continent will ultimately result in much impact on programs and initiatives the U.S. undertakes there. That’s in part because the kind of transformational changes Obama is promoting will be costly and could face difficulty in a Congress usually hostile to foreign aid – and because Obama himself is preoccupied with pressing problems at home and two wars abroad.”

--WashPost’s Michael A. Fletcher and Karin Brulliard: “The president's visit included no public events that would allow the masses to get a live glimpse of him. ‘The president wanted to use this visit to shine a light on Ghana and on what it is doing so successfully, rather than on him,’ Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said.”

--AP’s Ben Feller: “America's president and Africa's son, Barack Obama dashed with pride onto the continent of his ancestors Saturday, challenging its people to shed corruption and conflict in favor of peace. … In the faces of those who lined the streets and in many of Obama's own words, this trip was personal. Beyond his message, the story was his presence - the first black U.S. president coming to poor, proud, predominantly black sub-Sahara Africa for his first time in office. The emotional touchstone of his visit: a tour of Cape Coast Castle, the cannon-lined fortress where slaves were kept in squalid dungeons, then shipped in chains to America through a ‘Door of No Return’ that opens to the sea.”

--L.A. Times’ Christi Parsons: “The castle stands on the shores of the western coast of Africa, a forbidding compound with dark dungeons where captives lived in sweltering heat with only tiny vents to let in fresh air before they were shipped off to slavery in the New World. Near the Cape Coast Castle stands a small chapel where slave traders attended services steps away from the misery. As President Obama visited the fortress and slave outpost Saturday, he said the juxtaposition reminded him of the former concentration camp he toured in Germany last month. … ‘As painful as it is,’ he said, ‘it helps to teach all of us that we have to do what we can to fight against the kinds of evils that sadly still exist in our world, not just on this continent but in every corner of the globe.’ In contrast with a more tempered reception in Russia, people gathered everywhere Obama went in Ghana, and thousands strained to catch a glimpse of the first family at the Cape Coast Castle.”

--AFP’s Laurent Lozano and Aminu Abubakar: “President Barack Obama condemned the African ‘strong men’ who enrich themselves and urged the continent's people to demand stronger government in order to decide their own future. Obama, the first black US president, brought a message of hope laced with warnings on a landmark first official trip to the heart of Africa during which he received an ecstatic reception with huge crowds lining the streets of Ghana's capital.”

--DURING AUDIENCE WITH HIS HOLINESS, OBAMA PRESENTS LETTER FROM SENATOR KENNEDY – Denis McDonough, deputy national security adviser for strategic communications, briefing reporters on the Vatican visit, aboard Air Force One en route Ghana: “[T]hey concluded with a discussion about Senator Kennedy. The President delivered a letter from Senator Kennedy to the Holy Father. He also asked that the Holy Father pray for … Senator Kennedy, … whose brother obviously broke an important barrier in our country by being the first Catholic president elected of the United States”

ROBERT GIBBS: “Let me add one thing to that. The president just as we lifted off spoke with Senator Kennedy for about 10 minutes, telling him that he had delivered the letter on his behalf to the pope today. … The contents of the letter were not known to anybody that I know of except Senator Kennedy.”

--GREAT HEADLINE – International Herald Tribune, Saturday’s Asia edition, over a story by Peter Baker and Rachel Donadio: “New math of diplomacy just doesn’t quite add up -- Attempts to reconcile old ways and new powers beget the G-8+5+1+5.”

PALIN:

--WashTimes A1, “Palin plans to stay in politics,” by Ralph Z. Hallow, in Anchorage: “‘I will go around the country on behalf of candidates who believe in the right things, regardless of their party label or affiliation,’ she said over lunch in her downtown office, 40 miles from her now-famous hometown of Wasilla — population 7,000 — where she began her political career.”

--MAUREEN DOWD imagines a Twitter exchange between @AKGovSarahPalin and @SenJohnMcCain. She asks: “How the heck are ya, ya big hero?? Long time no hear, pardner. Y did u defriend me on Facebook?” Later, she calls him “Pops” and asks for a blurb for her book: “OK, here’s ur blurb: ‘The Keating Five was nothing compared to the Alaska One. America, I’m sorry.’”

--Weekly Standard cover – “OUT OF ALASKA: Sarah Palin on why she resigned and what it means for her future,” by Matthew Continetti: “The fierce reaction surprised Palin. She is acutely aware of what the media and her opponents say about her. She heard some people say that the timing of her speech was odd. Not so. ‘Independence Day is so significant to me--it's sort of a way for me to illustrate that I want freedom for Alaskans to progress, and for me personally,’ she told me during a telephone interview on July 9. Others said the motivation for her resignation was not clear. ‘I'm like, “Holy Jeez, I spoke for 20 minutes”’ giving reasons, she said. … “Palin's new combativeness is pronounced. … Palin had made a clear decision to defend her family's honor. … ‘It's not retreat,’ Palin said. ‘It's moving more aggressively than ever to fight for what's right.’ Today the Palinistas and Palinphobes are as much a part of the national scene as they have been part of Alaska's. … The obsession is sure to intensify. Be prepared. Hurricane Sarah is about to descend on the Lower 48.”

--FRANK RICH, “She Broke the GOP and Now She Owns It”: “She is not just the party’s biggest star and most charismatic television performer; she is its only star and charismatic performer. Most important, she stands for a genuine movement: a dwindling white nonurban America that is aflame with grievances and awash in self-pity as the country hurtles into the 21st century and leaves it behind. Palin gives this movement a major party brand and political plausibility that its open-throated media auxiliary, exemplified by Glenn Beck, cannot. She loves the spotlight, can raise millions of dollars and has no discernible reason to go fishing now except for self-promotional photo ops. The essence of Palinism is emotional, not ideological. … The real wave she’s riding is a loud, resonant surge of resentment and victimization that’s larger than issues like abortion and gay civil rights. … Palin’s political obituaries [are] likely to jump-start her lucrative afterlife.”

--DRUDGE WILL LOVE – The (London) Sunday Times, “White House ‘dirty tricks’ torpedo Palin.” Something about her thinking Obama’s team was behind troopergate investigation. The Times’ Sarah Baxter: “Some conservative insiders have accused the charismatic mother-of-five of succumbing to ‘paranoia’.”

AFGHANISTAN:

--WashPost A1, “OBAMA’S WAR: The Surge Begins – A Fight for Ordinary Peace,” by Rajiv Chandrasekaran, in Nawa, Afghanistan: “ About 4,000 troops -- most of them U.S. Marines -- descended upon Nawa and other towns along the lower Helmand River valley 10 days ago in a massive operation to root out the Taliban. Their aim is to combat the insurgency in a new way: Instead of targeting extremist strongholds, they will aim to protect communities from the Taliban. … But employing U.S. forces to restore a sense of normalcy in a country ravaged by 30 years of war involves a series of assumptions and a set of challenges that are already proving more complicated than mounting hunt-and-kill missions against the Taliban. …

“The United States will have to spend billions more dollars to expand training for Afghanistan's army and police forces. Ineffective development programs will have to be overhauled. State Department diplomats and Agriculture Department specialists will need to deploy in larger numbers. And if the approach being employed in the Helmand River valley is extended to other areas under Taliban control, it could well result in the need for thousands more U.S. troops. Marines have been heartened by the initial indications in Nawa. A dozen stalls have reopened in the market. People have approached patrols to express support for the troop presence. And perhaps most significantly, the Taliban appears to have retreated -- for now. … Helmand, Marines here are fond of noting, is the Afghan equivalent of Anbar, the once-lawless province west of Baghdad that was the focus of Marine operations in Iraq. Both are vast desert regions bisected by a river. … Within hours of the Marine landing, the town turned eerily quiet. Taliban attacks on the government office, which had been an almost nightly occurrence, ceased.

--REMARKABLE PHOTO by WashPost’s Nikki Khan – A Marine with a lengthy “A Soldier’s Prayer” tattooed on his back: “U.S. Marine Cpl. Cory Mathis, 23, enjoys a short break with fellow Marines in the Helmand River after nine days of missions in the province. He says the tattoo on his back is ‘a memorial to all the fallen Marines I've served with in my three deployments.’”

--PREVIEW OF U.S. SUMMER? BRITISH OUTRAGE OVER AFGHANISTAN CASUALITIES -- Reuters/London: “British troops fighting in Afghanistan will get whatever equipment they need, said finance minister Alistair Darling on Saturday, as pressure built on the government over its strategy after the death of eight soldiers. The soldiers were killed on Thursday and Friday in the southern province of Helmand, where British and U.S. forces are waging a major offensive against Taliban insurgents.”

--“SEVERE CONSEQUENCES” POSSIBLE FOR U.S. – AP/London: “Increasing British unease could have severe consequences for the Americans. With other European nations unwilling to send in more troops — and Afghan forces not ready to take up overall security — Britain's support is crucial to any American effort. The high number of recent battle deaths has brought into focus the problems and inconsistencies of a war that started with a limited objective — find Osama bin Laden and defend Britain from terrorism — but which has now embraced broader goals.”

--RECRIMINATIONS – The Mail on Sunday cover is, “[Ministry of Defense] ‘SAFE TROOP CARRIERS ARE U.S. REJECTS -- '1 in 10' of our soldiers could die in Afghanistan: “New vehicles purchased to protect British troops in Afghanistan have already been rejected as unsafe by the US military. … One [member of Parliament] predicted that Mr. Brown would face huge pressure to reconsider the UK's commitment to Afghanistan if the violence did not abate by the end of August.”

--INJURIES RISING -- The front page of Saturday’s Times of London was largely taken up by a photo montage of the “183 servicemen and one servicewoman who have died … Injuries have been rising, with at least 200 wounded in battle this year.”

ALSO DRIVING THE CONVERSATION:

--TALK RADIO ALERT – WashTimes A1, “Neon-yellow ‘ Choose Life’ Virginia license plates will appear on roadways as early as this week, making Virginia the 24th state to allow motorists to feature the slogan on state-issued tags. The state has begun shipping the plates, after Gov. Tim Kaine, a Democrat, signed a bill in March authorizing their production. As of Friday, the state’s Department of Motor Vehicles had received 538 applications for the plates, which became available July 1.” SHOWS A DRAWING OF A BOY AND A GIRL. Illustration

--NETWORK NEWS ALERT – Boston Globe p.1 on Saturday: “ Franklin Park Zoo may have to close: Zoo officials said the possible closing of the Boston institution, which has drawn generations of families, is due to budget cuts imposed by Governor Patrick.”

--VIRGINIA GUBERANTORIAL CANDIDATES VANISH FROM RADAR – WashPost A1, by Anita Kumar, in Richmond: “The two candidates running for governor of Virginia have spent the first month of their race all but absent from the campaign trail, an unusual strategy at this point in any election but especially so for a tossup contest with national implications. To a degree rarely seen in state politics, Democrat R. Creigh Deeds and Republican Robert F. McDonnell have spent the early summer hunkered down, amassing resources and plotting strategy for what is expected to be a fierce clash of styles and ideas. They are girding for a campaign that is viewed as a bellwether of President Obama's sway with voters and a first test of the issues that Republicans hope will revive their party. And yet, Deeds has held only a handful of events since his June primary victory, and McDonnell is going on vacation. Television and radio airwaves have fallen silent.”

--OPEN MIKE -- AFP: “With less than three months until Germany goes to the polls to choose a new leader, US President Barack Obama believes Chancellor Angela Merkel is a shoo-in for re-election, a report to appear Monday said. Walking to a joint press conference on June 26, Merkel told Obama that she ‘was preparing her election campaign’, according to news magazine Spiegel, citing footage captured by public television channel ZDF but only partially released. Turning to Merkel with a grin, Obama is quoted as saying: ‘Oh, you've already won. I don't know you're always worrying.’ According to Spiegel, a surprised-looking Merkel laughed briefly. … [I]f opinion polls are to believed, Obama looks to be backing the right candidate.”

--JASON RECHER’s 30th in NYC, organized by girlfriend Andrea Taylor of Ed Gillespie Strategies fame and his cuz Krissie Darr. POOL REPORT from correspondent Scooter Slade: “The evening began with cordials and cocktails on the second floor of the 21 Club, where neckties are no longer required though strongly encouraged. Party favors included nicely designed ‘Recher at 30’ beer coozies using a 7/11 store motif/theme. Main course choice of Recher's recc of the hamburger, or chicken breast or filet mignon. Assorted cupcakes from Crumbs Bake Shop topped it off, with singing and candle blowing. It was revealed that the only thing Jason asked for his birthday was Michael Jackson London show tickets. And, Andrea had purchased, though for naught. Instead, the King of Pop – plus NOLA icon and now Recher friend Fats Domino -- played as background music during dinner. Official RON is the Marriott Downtown Financial Center.”

PRESSWATCH – N.Y. Times Public Editor Clark Hoyt: “Love and Marriage, New York Times Style … [T]he weddings and celebrations pages of The Times have always been a battleground. They are studied as sociological raw material reflecting the rise of new elites and the decline of old, the increasing diversity of the country, and the changing roles of women. They are parodied online and in a new book, ‘Weddings of The Times.’ They are featured in New Yorker cartoons (bridesmaid to downcast bride: ‘So what if he’s not the man of your dreams. The Times is going to be there.’) and dismissed as ‘wedding porn’ by people who find them an irresistible guilty pleasure. Deep in a 2002 essay calling for the abolition of the weddings pages as anachronisms serving ‘a very small aristocracy,’ the writer Timothy Noah of Slate confessed that he had pulled strings in 1990 to get his own wedding written up. Through it all, some 200 couples a week submit announcements of weddings or commitment ceremonies, competing for no more than 40 or so spots in each Sunday’s Styles section and one video on the paper’s Web site. They must comply with three pages of rules and submit to rigorous fact-checking. Everyone involved in a wedding, including the person performing the ceremony, is interviewed, and some are asked for documentary proof of things like degrees and honors.

“Robert Woletz, the editor in charge, said it is amazing how little some people know about their family members, like a father’s current job. … [N]ew rules [are] going up next month in connection with a new system that will allow announcements to be submitted online. Woletz decides who makes it in, ‘for better, for worse,’ he said. How does he choose? ‘The basic premise is that we’re looking for people who have achievements,’ he said. ‘It doesn’t matter what field these achievements are in.’ … David Brooks, before he was a Times columnist, wrote ‘Bobos in Paradise,’ a best-selling account of what he called the new upper class. Part of it was based on a study of Times wedding announcements, which Brooks said had shifted over the years from an emphasis on bloodlines to education and brains.

"My assistant, Michael McElroy, took a fresh look at a sample of announcements from four different weeks over the past year and found that is still true. When bloodlines are mentioned, they tend to be from accomplishment, not old social order — a father who was a Nobel Prize-winning physicist, another who was a top executive of ABC. Almost a quarter of the parents were educators. As the announcements under Woletz have become more diverse, parents like a union electrician, a retired firefighter and even a courier have popped up beside orthopedic surgeons and authors. Still, the brides, grooms and same-sex partners in our sample were heavily Ivy League, 40 percent, and clustered in prestige occupations. The top three fields for men were finance, media and law. For women, it was media, education and current student. Nearly half had advanced degrees.”

CHICAGO OLYMPIC BID – Chicago Tribune, “NBC sports chief believes USOC hurting Chicago's bid for 2016 Olympics,” by Philip Hersh: “NBC Sports Chairman Dick Ebersol, one of the most influential players in the Olympic world, blames the United States Olympic Committee for jeopardizing Chicago's chances to win the 2016 Summer Olympics. ‘The only thing that can cost Chicago the Games is continuing squabbles between the two parties,’ Ebersol said Friday via telephone, referring to the latest quarrel between the USOC and the International Olympic Committee. … This problem arose when the USOC went ahead with its Wednesday announcement about the 2010 launch of a U.S. Olympic television network despite the IOC telling it to delay the announcement until contractual issues were resolved. … [IOC has an] Oct. 2 vote in Copenhagen on the 2016 host. Rio de Janeiro, Madrid and Tokyo are the other finalists. … Ebersol said it became starkly evident Chicago stood to lose in the latest dispute after the IOC issued a statement Thursday saying it was ‘disappointed the USOC acted unilaterally and, in our view, in haste.’”

DESSERT – AFP, “Washington: the hottest living movie studios,” by Karin Zeitvogel: “Washington, once seen as a dour city with too many grim-faced lobbyists and politicos, is attracting hordes of film-makers and stars these days, as well as the people who like to watch them. In 1991, half a dozen films and TV shows were shot in Washington. Fifteen years later, more than three times that number were shot here and in the first six months of 2009, Washington has been buzzing with movie and TV activity. Last month, visitors and locals watched the residents in music channel MTV's reality show, The Real World, check into a house in Dupont Circle for weeks of cohabitation and filming for a show that will air next year. Some DC natives reported on celeb-spotting website JustJared.com, seeing actor Jack Nicholson outside La Tomate restaurant, also in Dupont Circle near Washington's embassy row.

“Nicholson, according to JustJared, is in Washington … to film Academy Award winning director James Brooks's new movie, in which Nicholson plays Reese Witherspoon's father. The romantic comedy, which has a working title of ‘How Do You Know’ and also stars Owen Wilson and Paul Judd as two men vying for Witherspoon's affections, recently wrapped up several weeks of filming in Washington. Earlier this year, Angelina Jolie filmed several takes of a scene for the spy thriller ‘Salt’ outside the Archives-Navy Memorial Metro station in downtown DC. …

“[T]here's no denying that there's a sense of cool about living in or visiting Washington these days, and according to Rebecca Pawlowski, director of communications at Destination DC, much of that is thanks to President Barack Obama. ‘There's been a lot of buzz and excitement around Washington DC, starting with the election in November and continuing into the inauguration in January, particularly internationally -- we've seen a lot of visitors coming over for that reason, to be part of this phenomenon,’ Pawlowski said. ‘People want to be part of the energy and changes in Washington.’”

** Investing in people, not potholes, brings the greater return. Access to quality early childhood education provides significant long-term gains, according to research by Nobel Prize economist Dr. James Heckman and others. Higher school achievement. Lower high school dropout rates. Fewer crimes committed. We jeopardize those outcomes by shortchanging programs that work.

With Congress’ support, the President’s call for nearly $1 billion to enhance early childhood education will pay dividends and decrease costs for years to come. Learn more about why at www.ffyf.org/whats-new/1-news/75-budget .**

****** A message from UnitedHealth Group: What does it take to create a modern, high-performing, simpler health care system? Expanding access to care through proven state-based coverage and employer-sponsored insurance. Making health care more affordable with consumer-directed care and value-based payments. Supporting and modernizing Medicare to meet the complex health challenges of America’s seniors. And reinvesting in health to support research and innovation. Learn more about these ideas at http://www.unitedhealthgroup.com ******

Authors:

About The Author

Mike Allen is the chief White House correspondent for POLITICO. He comes to us from Time magazine where he was their White House correspondent. Prior to that, Allen spent six years at The Washington Post, where he covered President Bush's first term, Capitol Hill, campaign finance, and the Bush, Gore and Bradley campaigns of 2000. Before turning to national politics, he covered schools and local governments in rural counties outside Fredericksburg, Va., for The Free Lance-Star, then wrote about Doug Wilder, Oliver North, Chuck Robb and the Bobbitts for the Richmond Times-Dispatch, where he nurtured police sources on overnight ride-alongs through housing projects. Allen also covered Mayor Giuliani, the Connecticut statehouse and the wacky rich of Greenwich for The New York Times. Before moving to The Times, he did stints in the Richmond and Alexandria bureaus of The Washington Post. Allen grew up in Orange County, Calif., and has a B.A. from Washington and Lee University, where he majored in politics and journalism.